


Blood Runs Half-Full

by cafri_jonique



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Camp Half-Blood AU, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), M/M, Mutual Pining, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Prophecy, Swearing, Tags to be added as I go along, Texan Keith (Voltron), background Adashi, background hunay, background lotura, broganes, except for godly parent obviously, past allurance, so much swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2019-11-07 10:50:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cafri_jonique/pseuds/cafri_jonique
Summary: Keith has had a hard life. He never knew his mom, his dad died when he was 8, Shiro disappeared when he was 14, and he lived alone in the middle of nowhere until he was 16.Then, one night, he gets attacked by what he assumes are demons.And he's about to discover what his heritage really entails.Or: A klance Camp Half-Blood AU





	1. Strawberries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has had a hard life. He never knew his mom, his dad died when he was 8, Shiro disappeared when he was 14, and he lived alone in the middle of nowhere until he was 16. 
> 
> Then, one night, he gets attacked by what he assumes are demons.

Before his dad had died, he was told about some sort of summer camp that he could go to, to get more answers about his mother. 7 year old Keith had asked why his dad couldn’t just tell him about her, but all his dad had done in response was give a sad smile. His dad had simply told him that going to this camp would allow Keith to know everything he wanted about her.

When his dad did die a year later, rescuing people from a fire, he was in a dark place for a while.

The only property that he was able to inherit was a tiny house in the middle of Nowhere™ and his dad’s motorcycle, which he wasn’t even allowed to drive. And a knife that his mom left for him. Since there was no known immediate family on his dad's side, and his mom's side was a dead-end, he was shoved head-first into the foster system.

It wasn't as if he didn't encounter friendly people. His first foster parents had been really kind. None of them were abusive or anything. They let him take lessons on things he was interested in, even if they were always changing. They always gave him what he needed: food, water, clothes, and a home.

Until he was inevitably put back into the system every single time, for reasons Keith was never told. It never lasted for more than a couple of months. With no known family he could go to, he was stuck travelling from foster home to foster home. He was alone.

Then he met Takashi Shirogane.

They met when Shiro was visiting his elementary school to do a special week-long activity about space. Keith had definitely been wowed by the activity, and Shiro took notice of that. He helped get Keith into the school he was a professor at, the Galaxy Garrison. A 6-12th grade piloting school targeted at kids interested in space exploration.

It's not like he had anything better to do, and Shiro made space sound interesting. Really interesting. So why not.

There was some drama in sixth grade with a couple of other kids, and Keith never really grew out of his had his ups and downs at the Garrison, but it was nice. Until he was 14, Keith did well at the school. After three years of aimlessly living in different families’ houses, he finally had somewhere to stay. A purpose.

He even got a boyfriend, and although it didn't last more than a couple months, it didn't keep him down. They had an amicable breakup, which was funny considering they used to hate each other before they got together. He would never forget James.

Then Shiro didn’t come back after one summer, on a trip to the East Coast. The contact from him to Keith just stopped. The officers of the Garrison claimed to have no idea what had happened to Shiro, but Keith was certain they at least knew a little more than what they were letting on.

His quest for answers had gotten him kicked out of the one place he had felt truly at home in since his dad died.

Instead of going to another foster home, however, Keith had just made his way back to the old shack in Texas. No way in hell he was getting thrown into and taken out of more families like a pinball.

He resided there for a year and a half. Mostly in solitude. He needed to eat, duh, so he faked his age to get a job at a nearest town. They never really paid too close attention. Any money he got from working at fast food and retail was put towards food and gas for his motorcycle. Maybe candles and matches, or batteries for flashlights since he didn't have enough money for electricity. There also wasn't enough to pay for running water, so more often than not, he'd hop over to the nearest homeless shelter after work, avoid all the creepy stares from people waaaay too old for him, and take a shower.

It gave him plenty of time to think. And thinking, of course, never led to the happy, cheery thoughts he'd prefer.

_If only his mom hadn't left him and his dad. If only a foster family could stick with him and_ commit. _If only Shiro hadn't disappeared. If only the Galaxy Garrison hadn't booted him for asking questions. If only he was old enough to get a fucking job without having to lie, lie, lie._

It wasn't a great life. Keith was used to being lonely. He was used to everyone he cared about leaving. He was.

But this time he was really on his own.

Too often, he found himself waking up with tears in his eyes.

——————

One night, something in his room fell off a shelf and crashed to the ground. Keith, despite being a heavy sleeper, was jolted awake.

He immediately shuddered. There was an unusual air of tension surrounding him.

Keith groped around his nightstand until his fingers finally closed around the flashlight he kept there. Yawning, he got up, stretched for a little bit, and walked over to where a the noise came from.

There was a framed picture of his dad, the glass part shattered. He frowned.

Was it an earthquake?

The drapes in his room were open, and the moon was bright and full. Keith clicked off his flashlight and bent down to pick up the frame.

A shadow suddenly towered over him. 

Keith quickly whipped around, and came face-to-face with a woman.

Except... she was shimmering? As if she was a hologram.

The woman grinned, and it made something twist in Keith's stomach. "We found you~" she hummed, her voice eery. Then she lunged for him, fingers outstretched to reveal long, sharp nails.

With a yelp, Keith tumbled to the side to avoid getting tackled.

There was a slight pain on his cheek. He put a hand to his face and it came back with a little red. The nails must have grazed his face.

He didn't even have time to process it. Something slammed through his window, followed by his door breaking down

Keith's eyes widened and he and scrambled back towards his bed. Two more women joined the first, and they surrounded him. They hissed and walked closer to him.

"Who the fuck are you?! What the fuck do you want?!" he yelled, eyes looking back and forth between all of them.

They just smiled. One of them even snickered.

He turned around just in time to get a glimpse of _another one_ of those ladies jumping for him. It happened so fast, he didn't have time to think.

The woman's face turned from a smirk to an agonized expression, her eyes locking onto the point where Keith had connected his knife into her chest. The hand gripping the hilt trembled, and Keith felt his eyes widen even more in horror.

She looked back up and screamed.

He instinctually pulled back the knife and kicked her off of him. The other women stared at her, so Keith took the opportunity and ran out of his room.

He heard hisses and angry shrieks behind him, so he bolted to the front door. When he finally managed to get it open, he frantically grabbed the jacket hanging on a coatrack and slammed the door shut.

Then he was blasted forwards.

His side hit the ground hard, and for a second he couldn't breathe.

He couldn't even register how his house had just exploded behind him and what was left was now on fire, he just kept trying to gulp for air.

Finally, whatever organ in his body that had been stunned started working again, and he gasped. His vision was slightly blurry.

Through his watery eyes, he could see three figures emerge from the fire. With no time to even think, he sprinted over to his motorcycle. He patted his jacket to see if maybe, hopefully, he left his keys in it, and yes! He did!

Shoving them into the ignition, he revved the engine, and drove.

——————

These women pursued him for miles upon miles, on foot, and he couldn’t believe that they had somehow almost caught up with him a few times.

He lost them every time he reached a city, but they still somehow found him soon after. Even when he didn't see them, he still drove as far as possible until he ran out of gas and had to make a pit stop somewhere in Arkansas. Thank God his wallet was also in his jacket pocket.

His 16th birthday was spent eating in a diner, getting strange looks from people since he was still wearing pajama pants.

And then promptly running when the crazy ladies somehow were there. Again. Keith had recognized their appearance, and didn’t even hesitate before he slammed cash down on the table he was eating at and hopped back on the motorcycle. He was gone before they reached the diner.

The woman he stabbed was in the back of his mind the entire time. It was self defense, he knows. It still replayed in his mind every time he stopped to catch his breath.

He didn’t know what to do. Where to go. Who to talk to.

——————

Four days later, somewhere in Kentucky, Keith was running low on money. He was extremely tired. He hadn’t slept in a bed for almost a week, nor had he showered at all.

He kept seeing small glimpses of women hunting him whenever he had to stop somewhere.

On more than one occasion, one of them had spotted him. And like ants to honey, all of them tried to get to him. If Keith didn’t know any better, he would’ve sworn they had sharp claws, one furry leg, and one metal leg. Each time he immediately took off on his motorcycle to lose them in the city again.

Keith really needed somewhere to stay. Somewhere he could think and figure out a game plan.

But who the fuck was he to contact?

Not his former foster parents. He didn't even remember their number.

No friends from the Garrison. He hadn't been a very sociable person.

It seemed crazy, but… Keith asked to borrow someone’s phone when he stopped for gas. He dialed the number he had given up trying to reach months ago. It was desperate, yes, but it was the only thing Keith could think of doing. The only person who he trusted, even if he hadn’t heard from him in almost two and a half years.

Surprisingly, the person on the other end picked up after a few rings.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Shiro? Oh my God, are you okay?”

“Keith? Is that you?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Where the hell have you been these past two years?!”

“I”ve been… really busy. The… ah, summer camp that I work at was having an emergency and I couldn’t really… let the Garrison know about it.”

“For two years? And you never ever called me back!”

“Keith, I can’t really explain why I’ve been gone. And I only just got a phone again a few weeks ago.”

“Then why didn’t you call back in those few weeks?! Or even just send me a message via Instagram or something!”

“I haven’t really had access to any electronics in a while.”

“Neither have I, okay?! But I’ve been trying to contact you ever since you disappeared!"

“What made you call me now?”

Keith’s eyes widened. “Did you… not want me to get in contact with you?”

“What?!” Shiro’s voice sounded surprised, “No no no no, that’s not what I meant. I’m just curious as to what made you try again.”

Keith fell silent for a few moments. He didn’t want to be burden to Shiro, not after all that Shiro had done. But he took a deep breath and spoke again.

“I got… attacked, at my house. In the middle of the night two days ago.”

“You what?!”

“Yeah. This group of… insane people burned it down. I didn’t even have time to put proper clothes on, just a jacket.”

“Oh my gods, are you okay?”

“Shiro, I did something bad."

“Keith, are you okay?”

“Physically? Yeah. But I did something really bad. These people, they came into the house, and they attacked me, and one of them tackled me. I don't... I don't fucking remember it happening, but I hurt her, and I know it was self defense, but I still fucking stabbed someone and I don't know what to do and I don't know where to go!”

"Keith! Calm down! Breathe."

Shiro's soothing voice snapped Keith out of it. He drew in a shaky breath.

"I don't know where to go, I don't know what to fucking do."

“Wait, why aren’t you at the Garrison?”

“Oh, um…”

Once again, Keith stopped talking. He didn’t know how to respond to that.

Shiro spoke up before he had to give an answer. “Okay, well, you obviously aren’t there now. Did you call the police?”

Keith slapped his forehead. Why didn’t he call the police? That was the obvious choice anyone would have made. They would have understood.

Well, fucking too late now.

“I did not… also, I’m kind of… not in Texas anymore.”

“Where are you right now?" 

“Look, I keep driving from city to city, and these people keep following me. And there’s more and more of them every time I look. I just… Shiro, I need somewhere to stay. Just for a little bit.”

Shiro didn’t answer for a while, and Keith was scared that he would refuse. Instead, he said, “What did these people look like?”

“I don’t know, they’re just a bunch of women that keep coming after me.”

“Is there anything… weird, about them?”

“I mean… kind of? Like, they can run really, really fast. Also, they kind of look… blurry, whenever I see them.”

“I see…”

“I know it sounds crazy, but I just… I need somewhere I can stay for a little while.”

“How close are you to New York?”

He was startled a little bit at the randomness of the question. “Uh… I’m in Berea, I think. In Kentucky."

“Okay. Keith, there’s a place in New York, the place that I’m currently at right now, that will keep you safe from whoever it is that’s attacking you. I suggest you get on a bus to New York City. I’ll give you an address you can go to from there. 

“I have a motorcycle, I can’t get on a bus.”

“Well, you should probably leave the motorcycle somewhere.”

“Shiro, I can’t do that, this was my dad’s!”

Keith heard a sigh on the other end of the phone.

“Alright. Just, get here as quickly as possible. And if there comes a point where it’s you or the motorcycle, do not choose the motorcycle.”

“Fine. Whatever. You gonna give me the address?”

“Yes, you have a piece of paper and something to write with?”

“I’ll just write it on my arm.”

“Okay, that works. The name of this haven is ‘Camp Half-Blood.’”

——————

Keith wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, in all honesty.

He hadn’t even been sure this camp was real, seeing as how it didn’t show up at all on the internet when he had searched it up on his own time. He wouldn’t even have looked further it had it not been for his midnight assault.

Yet Shiro had confirmed that such a place existed. He recognized the name “Camp Half-Blood” from when his father had mentioned it. It was a place where he’d learn about his mom. And a place that he would be safe at.

He felt like it was his best bet to find himself some answers.

What he did not expect, though, was to travel two days to New York from Kentucky, while being actively hunted and occasionally attacked by the people who burnt his house down, just to find a strawberry farm.

He started laughing. Not because he was amused, or anything was funny, but because he was done with everything. Keith had ran out of gas in his motorcycle less than a mile from where the camp was actually supposed to be, and on his way up the hill while dragging it, the ladies had caught up to him.

Keith had to ditch the motorcycle he had clinged onto for this entire ordeal and run as fast as he could up the hill.

And he was greeted with a strawberry farm. He was still almost half a mile away, but from the distance, he definitely did not see anything that resembled a “summer camp” or “haven.” He wondered briefly, for a moment, if he was in the wrong place.

He was dead, he was dead, and it was just a bunch of plants. The futility of it all was hilarious, and soon, his stomach hurt from the hysterical laughing.

The laughter subsided, however, when he heard a loud hiss from behind him.

Keith turned around, and his eyes bulged. The women following him… no longer looked human at all.

They had sharp fangs, and fire for hair. One of their legs resembled a donkey’s, and they most definitely had claws. Oh God, it wasn't just sharp nails. At this point, there were at six of them. And they were all going after Keith. He did the only logical thing he could think of.

He turned right back around with a fearful shout and ran as fast as he could towards the stupid strawberry farm.

“We finally caught him!” one of them shrieked, unsheathing her claws as they got closer.

“Pretty boy’s all ours!”

“I’m gonna cut him up and eat him for breakfast!”

They continued shouting similar notions at Keith, who did not like the sound of anything that was coming out of their mouths.

He noticed someone in an orange shirt finally noticing him from the top of the next hill, where the strawberry bushes were. They seemed to turn around and shout something in the direction of the main house, motioning towards Keith.

Keith only had time to feel confused at whether they were going to help him for a second before he felt stabbing pain in his arm. His head whipped around and he was greeted a sight of one of the women grabbing his lower arm. She snarled in his face, showing off her fangs.

It was purely reflex. Barely a conscious action.

His free hand gripped his knife and he swung it, ducking down under her body.

Back when he had been travelling from foster home to foster home, Keith had taken knife-fighting lessons and martial arts classes in an attempt to get closer with his absent mother, who was the one to leave the knife behind for him. He had continued when he attended the Garrison, taking lessons over his winter, spring, and summer breaks. The lessons had to stop when he got booted from the Garrison, but it was ingrained in his muscle memory.

The knife sliced through the women’s middle. Instead of blood pouring out like Keith expected, she just froze and let out a horrible scream. Just like the one he stabbed back at his shack.

Except this time, she disintegrated into dust.

Keith had only a few seconds to wonder about that before the next two demon-lady-things were clawing at him. He didn’t even register the pain of the cuts he was given, going into full-on adrenaline high mode.

He kept swinging, ducking, stabbing, and running. Rinse and repeat.

Keith was not going to die this close from where Shiro was.

He managed to kill most of them, their ashes in a choppy trail from where he had first struck one down. When there was only two left, however, they stayed just out of reach from where he could strike. They circled him menacingly.

“Pretty boy’s got fire,” one of them sneered, brandishing her claws at him, “I can’t wait to snuff that fire out!”

She lunged at him at the exact same time that the other one’s hand shot out to grab the arm that was holding his knife, effectively causing him to drop it. He could only weakly kick at her chest as he felt claws slice deep at his right cheek, right where that very first one back at his shack had grazed. Sharp pain coursed through his face. Then he felt claws on his chest, and the flimsy material of his pajama t-shirt offered zero protection of his skin.

He did manage to get in a sharp kick to the one on top of him, and quickly collected his knife back up. With a swift motion, he eliminated the demon lady holding his arm. The last one was still slightly stunned from the kick, so he gripped his chest with the hand not holding his knife and limped frantically to the direction of the strawberry bushes.

Keith didn’t make it far, though. The open flesh wounds and, consequently, loss of blood had made him incredibly dizzy. Coupled with the fact that he hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep or a good meal in almost two weeks, his body couldn’t take it. He fell to the ground with a harsh grunt and weakly flipped onto his back.

He could hear the hisses and curses of the demon. His vision was full of dark blobs and he blinked warily in the sunlight.

The demon lady jumped with a snarl, claws outstretched and fangs glistening in the sun.

And then she screamed. The same horrible scream they gave when they were killed.

Wait… but Keith hadn’t swung his knife…

Through his increasingly blackening vision, Keith got glimpse of an arrow sprouting from her chest, before she collapsed into dust all over him. He heard shouts behind him and the sound of people running.

Assuming he was safe, he finally stopped trying to hold onto consciousness.

Before he his eyes closed, however, he was able to spot a pair of bright blue eyes, and hear a voice say his name in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyyy just a Camp Half-Blood AU to work on when I'm not working on "He's like, the future."
> 
> If you haven't read that, you should totally do so.
> 
> My Twitter: @cafri_jonique


	2. Ambrosia and Cheesecake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith wakes up and is visited by an old friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, I've been incredibly busy with school and also applying to klance zines (wish me luck on those!), so it's taken a while for me to make content for AO3! I'm still working on the next chapter of "He's like, the future," but since "Blood Runs Half-Full" will generally have shorter chapters, it was easier to get this done first.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

When Keith opened his eyes again, he was in a bed. His cheek, chest, and arms were bandaged and his body ached all over. As his vision slowly cleared, it took him a few moments to process his surroundings. The room he was in seemed to be some sort of infirmary.

In beds around him, there were a few people sleeping. One of them had a bandage around their arm, and the other had one of their legs raised, a cast wrapped around it.

Keith himself began stretching in an attempt to ease his sore muscles, and the blanket covering him fell down a bit. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but but… wait, who put new pants on him?! 

New pants meant that someone had undressed him, and since he had just woken up, whoever undressed him had done it when he was _unconscious_!

He abruptly jolted up and started feeling around for his knife or wallet. Two things of which he did not find.

“What the hell?!” he shouted out loud. Keith felt himself start to panic. He needed to get out of wherever he was, preferably as quickly as possible.

No no no no no, no. Panicking was bad. Calm down, calm down, calm down.

He jumped out of the bed, only to immediately fall on the ground and knock some medical supplies over on the way down. Medical supplies that were apparently loud when it fell on the floor. 

Right. His legs were achy and they probably had been in the same position for a while. He laid a hand on the counter, only to for it to bump into more stuff. The crashes rang out into the air of the room.

He heard a groan, and the guy with the bandaged arm gave him a glare. “Hey, some of us are trying to sleep here, so... can you maybe not?” he growled at him. Keith returned the stare in an expression he hoped looked intimidating. 

“Where am I?”

“What?”

“Did I stutter? Where the fuck am I?”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “Oh right. You must be new,” he said, his voice changing from annoyed to monotone.

“Well, I don’t feel like explaining anything so.” He waved a hand above himself. “Have fun with that.”

Keith watched in frustration as he laid back down on the bed and turned so his back was facing him. The other person in the infirmary, the one with a cast on his leg, was a big, beefy guy with a friendly face. He gave Keith a sympathetic look. 

“Don’t mind him. Bandor’s just not feeling well, and he gets moody when that happens.”

“Uh… okay…”

“What’s your name? I’m usually the one to greet newcomers, but there was an accident in my cabin, and I sort of broke my leg as a result.”

“My name?" Should he tell him? Should he just keep it to himself? His previous anxiety was admittedly fading away now that he had been able to think for a few minutes and analyze the room while the asshole, apparently named Bandor, had been talking.

Well, this guy, at least, seemed friendly. And not an asshole like Bandor.

"Its, um, it’s Keith.”

“Nice to meet you! I’m Hunk! I would go over there and shake your hand, but, as you can see, I’m, ah, sorta incapacitated at the moment.”

“Yeah.”

"I haven't seen you around camp! Are you new? When did you get here?"

Keith pointedly looked at the ceiling. "I don't know. What day is it?"

Hunk tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, I'm actually not sure. You kind of lose track of time when you're in the med-bay."

Silence fell over them. Keith stopped making an attempt to get back up to the bed, so he opted for sitting on the floor criss-cross. He assumed he was safe, seeing as how not only was there no scary demon people attacking him, but he was also bandaged up.

Still. He wanted his knife back.

“So, Keith,” Hunk said suddenly, startling Keith out of his thoughts.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know who your parent is?”

“What?”

“Your parent. Mom or dad?”

Keith gave him a funny look. “Uh, yes?”

“Cool! Who are they?”

“Uh… why?”

“I’m just curious is all! I’ll go first, if you want.”

“No, that, that’s okay.”

Before Hunk could answer, the door to the infirmary started opening. Keith looked over in time to see a tall girl step in. She was holding a plastic bag full of what looked like lemon squares. Hunk waved hello.

“Look who’s up,” she said when she got sight of Keith, “Do you need help standing back up or…?”

Keith looked away in embarrassment. “Maybe I just prefer sitting on the floor,” he mumbled. He tried sitting up a little straighter. She rolled her eyes in response.

“Hey Veronica!” Hunk said cheerfully. The girl, presumably Veronica, looked up from Keith and smiled. 

“Good news, Hunk. This last batch of ambrosia should finally heal the bone, although you’ll need to exercise the leg for the next week or so.”

“That’s awesome! I can’t wait to get back to cooking!”

“Everyone misses your food, Hunk.”

Veronica turned to the kid sitting on the bed next to Keith. “Bandor, are you awake?” she asked. 

“No.”

“Well, when you wake up, you can go back to your cabin.”

“Whatever.”

“As for you,” she said, moving to face Keith, “You get some ambrosia today too. Finally. You have a tight jaw, you know that?” she said.

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What is that supposed to mean?” he asked in a threatening tone. 

Veronica, meanwhile, rolled her eyes again. “Probably an Ares kid,” she muttered under her breath. 

“We couldn’t open your jaw to force feed you ambrosia,” she continued, walking over to Hunk and opening the bag of lemon squares, “It was like it was glued shut.”

“What the hell is ambrosia?”

Veronica gave him a confused look. “Do you… seriously not know?” she questioned him. Keith crossed his arms. “I just want to see Shiro. Is he here?” he replied, avoiding the question. 

Everything was kind of freaking him out. Who were these people? What did she mean by ambrosia? What were those demon ladies and why were they chasing him? Keith wasn’t getting answers, and he felt a little embarrassed for not knowing any of these apparently obvious things. 

“Oh, right. Well, Keith, Shiro’s busy right now. I’ll tell him that your awake, though,” Veronica said. She broke a lemon square in half and handed it to Hunk.

“How do you know my name?”

“Shiro told me. Duh.”

“I’m really confused about everything right now.”

“Mm, well, I’m sure Shiro will explain everything. You seem to be one of those kids who knows nothing when arriving here.”

“Why can’t you just explain stuff?”

“Well, I technically could, but it’s better to hear it from someone you know and trust.”

Keith’s heart starting pumping faster. Better to hear what, exactly? “Is… is it bad?” he quietly asked. To his relief Veronica shook her head. She walked over to him and offered a hand.

“So, do you need help getting up or would you rather sleep on the floor?” she teased with a smile. Keith grumbled, but took her hand. She pulled him up and helped him onto the bed. He felt humiliated at the fact that he literally couldn’t stand up, but he kept a stoic, slightly standoffish expression on his face. He also thankfully managed to keep himself from yelping at the the sharp pain on his arm that he felt when he accidentally bumped in on the bed.

“Here, eat this,” Veronica said, handing him the other half of the lemon bar. Keith didn’t take it, though, and instead, eyed it skeptically. “I don’t like lemon,” he growled.

“Don’t worry, Keith,” Hunk chirped up, “It tastes really good, not like lemon at all. Well, unless you actually DO like lemon. It’s… complicated. Just try it!”

Keith raised an eyebrow and finally took it from Veronica’s outstretched hand. He tentatively took a bite. His eyes widened.

It most certainly did not taste like a lemon square, it tasted like… like the cheesecake his dad used to make him back when he was alive. The same exact flavor. It even felt like it had the same texture. In his mouth, at least. 

It took him a couple of minutes of blissfully chewing, his eyes closed to embrace the nostalgia, before he noticed the change. All of a sudden, the ache in his bones was gone and his body relaxed. The tension seemed to just ease it’s way out of his body. The cuts that he could still feel uncomfortably rubbing against the bandages didn't sting so much anymore, even if there was a little pain there.

Keith jerked the rest of the… whatever it was away and examined it..

“What the hell is this?” he demanded sharply. Veronica gave a snort, and Hunk smiled. 

“What does it taste like?” he asked.

“Like… I don’t know, what does it taste like for you?”

“It tastes different for everyone, but mine tastes like ube cake rolls.”

“Ube?”

“It’s like, a sweet purple yam.”

“Yams are purple?”

Veronica sighed. “Well, he’s definitely no son of Demeter.”

“Who’s Demeter?”

Everyone in the room gasped. Including Bandor, who whipped around in his cot to face Keith. “You can’t say that!” he spluttered, “You have to apologize!”

“What exactly am I apologizing for?!”

“Oh boy,” Veronica said quietly, shaking her head, “Demeter will… probably, hopefully understand Keith’s obvious ignorance and confusion.” She said that last part while looking up at the ceiling with a nervous expression.

“Ignorance?!” Keith glared at her.

Veronica sighed. “Maybe we should have Shiro talk to him as soon as possible,” she muttered under her breath, before turning to Keith and saying, “Okay, well, after I take Hunk’s cast off, I’m going to get Shiro over here. Alright, Keith?”

Keith slowly nodded and watched as Veronica walked over to Hunk with a pair of shears.

“Wait, but isn’t his leg still broken?”

“No, actually. The ambrosia healed him.”

“Ambrosia…?”

“The thing that you both ate.”

“The… the lemon square?”

Bandor slapped a hand over his face. “Did it taste like lemon?” he asked. Keith shook his head.

“Then it obviously wasn’t a lemon square!”

“Hey! Bandor!” 

Both Keith and Bandor turned to Hunk, who was wearing a small frown. “Guys, please don’t fight. Bandor, Keith obviously doesn’t know what’s going on, so don’t expect him to immediately understand everything,” he said. Veronica nodded in agreement.

“Keith, everything will be explained. Shiro will explain. And Bandor? You seem to be plenty awake, so please, stop taking up space in the infirmary,” she said without looking up from Hunk’s cast.

“What do you mean taking up space?! There’s literally only two other patients! Soon to be one, actually!”

“Hey, who’s the medic here? You, or me?”

Bandor grumbled, but slid off the bed. He trudged all the way to and out the door with a loud huff. Keith wasn’t sad to see him leave. He turned to look back over at Hunk.

Hunk, as a matter of fact, was now standing. “Thanks Veronica! Feels brand new!” he rejoiced, “Man, I can’t wait to join Lance back in archery. I miss shooting a bow.” He walked over to Keith and held out a hand.

Keith hesitantly took it, and they shook hands. “It was nice to meet you, Keith! I’ll see you around camp!” he said with a big smile and headed for the door.

“Remember to stretch and lightly exercise your leg!” Veronica called out.

“Lance’ll remind me, don’t worry!”

Keith leaned back into the wall behind his bed and took another bite of the “ambrosia.” It still tasted like cheesecake. And with every bite, the tension, soreness, and ache in his body seemed to go away just a little.

Veronica abruptly turned back to Keith. “You,” she added, “You stay put. Shiro will be here as fast as he can.”

He nodded in response as she flashed him a quick smile and walked out the door herself, the remnants of Hunk’s cast in her arms.

——————

He must have dozed off, because Keith found himself opening his eyes and exiting out of a dreamy state. A familiar figure was hovering over him. 

There was a long scar over his nose, and the tip of his bangs were white. But he couldn’t forget that face even if he tried.

“Shiro.”

“Keith.”

Barely any words were exchanged. Shiro leaned over and gave Keith as much of a bear hug as he could without injuring him. Keith, of course, raised his chest up to hug back. Hs smiled warily.

“You look good.”

“Even with the grey hairs?”

“They just make you look like an old man. Doesn't mean you look terrible.”

“Hey! I’m not that old…”

With a chuckle, Keith relaxed back onto the bed. Shiro pulled up a chair and sat next to him.

“So… I know we need to catch up.”

“Severely, yes.”

“But I gotta explain some things now. More important things.”

“Everything here is confusing me, to be honest.”

Shiro put an hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Hey, Keith, I get it. I really do. While a lot of people come here having some vague idea of how the camp works and why they’re here, a lot of others, such as yourself, have really no idea what kind of life they’re going to have.”

“That’s… ominous…”

“Yeah, I know. It can be tough on kiddos new to the information.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Um, Keith, you kind of are. Didn’t you just turn 16?”

“Yeah. You remembered my birthday?”

“Of course I did.”

“Was a pretty shitty birthday. I really enjoyed sitting in a crappy diner in my dirty, ragged pajamas.”

“We can still celebrate your birthday, though, right? Even if it’s a few days late.”

Keith shrugged. “It’s just a day that happens to come once a year. Nothing really special.”

Shiro sighed. “Well, we can talk about that later. Let’s get back on track to what you need to hear.” He pulled up a chair and sat down on it.

“What do I ‘need’ to hear?”

“You, uh… you might want to sit down for this.”

“Shiro, I’m already sitting down.”

“Whatever, whatever. You listening?”

“Yeah.”

—————

After a long two hours of Shiro explaining everything that was apparently going on, Keith burst out laughing.

All of the stress and anxiety he had dealt with over the past few weeks had all just accumulated and it made him laugh.

Apparently, according to a Shiro, Greek mythology was a real thing. Like, gods and goddesses. And this was a camp for the half-mortal children of those said gods and goddesses. And those demon ladies were attacking Keith because, as a half-god (or demigod, as Shiro put it), he smelled really tasty to monsters of the underworld.

“That’s- that’s a good one Shiro, oh my God!” 

“I’m not joking Keith.”

“This, ooh, this.” Keith was wiping tears from his eyes. “Real nice, Shiro. I- I almost fell for it.”

“Keith.”

“What?”

“I’m being serious.”

Keith fell silent.

Greek gods and goddesses, huh?

Deities like Zeus and Poseidon, huh?

Constantly… being… attacked… by monsters… huh?

Keith placed a hand on his forehead. Shiro didn’t say anything and instead, just let Keith breathe for a few minutes as he fully processed the information.

“Shit,” he said finally, voice shaky.

“It’ll be okay, Keith, really.”

“I- I don’t know what to say here.”

“You don’t need to say anything. I understand how you must be feeling. But, trust me, when I say that this place, Camp Half-Blood, is safe. It’s a place where you won’t have to worry about monsters.”

“So I’m stuck here forever?”

“Well, not forever…” 

Keith put his head in his hands. 

“Hey, it’ll get better. I promise. You’ll love here, I guarantee!”

Shiro placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder again and squeezed it gently. “Do you trust me, Keith?” he asked, trying to get him to look up.

He did. Then he slowly nodded. 

“Yeah, Shiro. Yeah, I trust you.”

“Good.”

“Hey, uh…”

“Yeah?”

“Who's your… godly parent?”

“Oh, me?” Shiro chuckled. He reached to stray his the back of his head awkwardly. “Well, I’m a son of Aphrodite.”

“Which goddess is that?”

“You really need to do research on Greek mythology, Keith.”

“Yeah, yeah. What is Aphrodite the goddess of?”

“Love, and beauty.”

Keith nodded in understanding. “I get it. You definitely have a loving personality, and you’re really good-looking, so it makes sense.”

“You think I’m good-looking?”

“In a platonic, brotherly way, yes.”

“Uh huh. What happened to ‘old man?’”

“It never went away.”

Shiro laughed and gently patted Keith on the back. “You’ll probably be able to get out of the infirmary by the end of the week, alright? Just gotta hang in there,” he reported, standing up, “I have to go now, though. Camp stuff and whatnot.”

“Right, right.”

“I’ll be back later, okay? We’ll talk more, and I’ll answer any questions you have.”

“Yeah. Oh, real quick.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you... have my knife?”

“The small one with a purple insignia on the hilt?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I don’t have it, but Coran does, and you’ll get it back after you get better.”

“Who’s Coran?”

“Camp director.”

“I see. What about my motorcycle?”

“I went to go get it. It’s in the parking lot right now.”

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s Shiro.”

Smiling, Shiro gave him a small wave and walked towards the door.

It was then that Keith realized that Shiro’s right arm was… not skin. 

Instead of a normal arm being there, a metal, robotic prosthetic had been attached and disappeared under the sleeves of his orange shirt. 

How had he not noticed it in the while that Shiro had been right in front of him?!

“Shiro! Wait!”

Shiro turned just as he reached the door. “What’s up, Keith?”

“What… what happened to your arm?”

He didn’t hear an answer for a long while. 

A minute passed.

Then two.

Shiro seemed frozen at the door, his facial expression unreadable, and his eyes unfocused.

“Shiro?”

Shiro gave his head a shake. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. As for my arm… well…”

“You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.”

“Let’s just say that accidents happen, especially when you’re a demi-god.”

“Oh.”

“I… I guess I’ll talk to you about it more later. Right now, you should get some rest.”

“Okay.”

Shiro gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry about me. This is nothing new, and I’m used to it already.” He walked out of the building.

Keith was alone in the infirmary again.

He was left wondering what kind of “accident” would’ve caused Shiro to lose an arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Twitter: @cafri_jonique


	3. Welcome, Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith can finally leave the infirmary, but he still had no clue who his mother might be

Keith was in the infirmary for another week. During that week, he saw a myriad of people with all sorts of injuries come in. One kid even had to get stitches in his side from a capture-the-flag game! 

His wounds healed, although there were four that became large, obvious scars. One on his chest, just above his breast bone. Another, the smallest, on his shoulder. The biggest running from his left shoulder blade to the middle of his back. And finally, one on his right cheek. The one on his face wasn’t the biggest, but it was the only one he couldn’t cover up with clothes. It made him feel even more self-conscious than he was already feeling.

Then again, the other campers he saw in the infirmary all had their fair share of scars littering their bodies.

Along with patients, Keith also saw a variety of different medics. He saw Veronica from time to time, but he didn’t really talk with her other than stuff involving his injuries.

Shiro visited him a lot, often bringing him food he snuck from meals. The whole scenario was still a tad overwhelming for Keith, so it was nice that he had someone he trusted to help him get through it.

After said week was over, one of the medics took his bandages off, gave him his jacket, and sent him out to go see Coran, the camp director Keith had heard so much about.

He stumbled out of the room holding all the male patients, wearing the bright orange t-shirt that almost everyone else was wearing. The words ‘Camp Half-Blood’ were written on it. The colors popped out from under his jacket.

Keith’s leather jacket definitely had seen better days. It was shredded all over from the attack. He really didn’t know why he was wearing it since it was practically useless now, both function-wise and appearance-wise. He still wore it anyways.

They called the large building he was in the “Big House.” On his way to where Coran’s office was supposed to be, Keith didn’t really take in his surroundings all that much. He just shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking. 

A few other campers passed him by in the halls. They gave him funny looks when they noticed his torn jacket, but he just shot them a threatening glare. Despite most of them having weapons that could probably cut Keith down in a second if the wielders wanted, they shrunk away from him. 

Good. He didn’t want them to think he was weak.

He reached the door to Coran’s office and took a deep breath. After a few knocks, he heard a chipper voice from behind the door call out, “Come in!”

Keith slowly opened the door and was greeted with the sigh of a tall man with an orange mustache.

Wait.

It wasn’t that he was tall. He was…

Keith had to blink a few times to process what he was seeing.

Yeah, Shiro had explained everything, but still.

There was no way in hell he was looking at a centaur.

“Ah, my boy, it’s nice to finally meet you! Shiro has told me so much about you, Keith Kogane!” the centaur said, grinning.

“Uh y-yeah… How do you know my name?” Keith wasn’t really paying close attention to what he was saying since he was still staring at the man’s horse body.

He laughed. “Like I said, Shiro told me! I assume you already know who I am, but I’ll introduce myself! I am Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe!”

“Er…”

“But you may call me Coran! I am the director of Camp Half-Blood, and I implore you to enjoy this lovely haven for demigods such as yourself!”

Keith thought he was way too happy.

“Uh… yeah, cool… I guess… How do you know I’m a demigod, though?”

Coran looked Keith over. “Simple, my boy. You would not have seen those empousai had you been simply a mortal!”

“Why?”

“Because of the Mist!”

“The what now?”

“Yes, yes, I know you have much to learn. But don’t worry! You’ll learn everything here!”

“Okay, that doesn’t really answer my question.” 

“You’ll get to know everything you need in time.”

Keith decided to drop it. He wiped a hand across his nose and sniffed. “What about my mom?”

“Your mother?”

“Yes, the parent of mine that is supposed to be a god.”

“Oh! Well, we won’t know for sure until she sends a clear sign that your one of hers.”

“Yeah, so I’ve been told. I want to know _when_ exactly that’s going to happen.”

“It is unfortunately unknown when she will lay claim to you,” Coran said, a hint of sympathy in his voice, “However, that doesn’t mean she won’t! Gods and goddesses just… forget, a lot. They have a lot going on behind the scenes, you know.”

Keith crossed his arms. “Well, so do I. Least my own mother could do is acknowledge my existence.”

“I’m sure she will! Usually, it’s just a matter of when, not if.”

“Yeah,” Keith scoffed, “‘Usually.’”

“Oh, Keith, it’ll all work out!” Coran offered a smile. “In the meantime, you should go to the cabin where you’ll be staying at for the time being! Since you are still unclaimed, you shall bunk in the Hermes cabin!”

“That’s… kind of random. Do I give off traits that resemble Hermes? I’m looking for a mother, not a father.”

“Oh, heavens no, you aren’t staying there because I think you’re a child of Hermes. No, you’ll be staying there because that’s where all the newcomers go!”

“… What about the actual children of Hermes?”

“They stay there too, obviously! They just share it with any unclaimed demigods, such as yourself.”

“Oh.”

“Yes!” Coran walked over and gave Keith a hearty pat on the back. “Now, my boy, I’ll have someone show you to your cabin since you are unfamiliar with the terrain of the campgrounds.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Coran walked over to his desk and shuffled through some of the stuff in the drawers. When he found what he was looking for, he let out a triumphant “Hmph!” and looked back over to Keith. He held out the object in his hand. “I believe this belongs to you, Mr. Kogane!” he mused.

It was Keith’s knife. Well, Keith’s knife in the sheath he usually wore around his waist. He took it and automatically took out the blade. After staring at it for a few seconds, he gripped his fingers tightly around the hilt. He did not want to be seperated from again it anytime soon.

“Wait out on the terrace if you could. Someone should be over shortly to help you out!”

“Okay.”

Keith walked back over to the door, but before he left, Coran cleared his throat.

“One more thing, Keith,” he started, holding a hand out. Keith, unsure exactly of what to do, awkwardly took it. Coran gave a strong, sturdy shake and smiled.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood!”

——————

Sitting on the porch of the Big House and waiting for whoever it was that was going to show him around, Keith was able to get a good look at the camp.

It was not the calm little strawberry farm he had seen while frantically running up the hill.

It was pretty much a training ground with a whole lotta weapons, fighting, and forests.

Ah, yes, the dark and foreboding forest surrounding the opposite end of the camp. Keith had a feeling he would have to be going inside at one point or another.

There were a lot of kids. Almost none of them looked like one another, and yet most of them were supposed to have a shit ton of half-siblings. He would’ve expected that there’d at least be some resemblance between them, but he didn’t really see any. 

Then again, he was observing from the porch, which was pretty far away from everyone. It’s not like he was able to get a good look at each individual’s’ face.

One thing was certain- all of them had an orange shirt on.

As he surveyed the area, the hand wrapped around his knife slowly relaxed its grip. He still didn’t let go of it, but he didn’t feel as on edge as before.

Twenty minutes passed before someone jogged up to where Keith was sitting. And he recognized that someone.

“Hey, Keith, good to see you up and about!” Hunk said in a chipper voice.

“I guess,” he replied, putting his knife in his sheath.

Hunk had a bow hooked over his shoulder and a quiver full of cool-looking arrows.

“That’s a cool scar! Proof you survived something rough, eh?”

Keith looked down and his hair fell over his face. “Yeah” was all he responded with.

Despite Keith’s discomfort, Hunk never wiped the smile off of his face. He beckoned for Keith to follow.

“Hermes cabin is thataway, but I think you should at least know the basic ins-and-outs of the camp,” he said as he started walking. Keith only gave him a small nod in response.

“So, I think when we first talked, you were a little confused when I asked about your parents, right?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Well, now that I know the circumstances, I understand that confusion! Anyways, my dad is Hephaestus.”

“Oh, uh, huh.”

“Yeah! My cabin is pretty cool, lots of gadgets inside!”

“Cool.” Keith was only half listening. He was taking in the area around him as they moved, just in case there was an emergency in the near future.

“You know, we could probably fix your jacket,” Hunk offered, eyeing it up and down, “We work with leather all the time, and all of the Hephaestus kids know how to sew. Well… all of them except for me, I guess.” Hunk said that last line with an embarrassed flush on his face.

What? Why was he embarrassed over not knowing how to sew? Fuck, Keith didn’t know how to.

In any case, Hunk was letting Keith know that he could fix his jacket. It was an opportunity Keith was going to take in favor of throwing the jacket out or walking around in such atrociously torn clothing.

“I wouldn’t mind giving the jacket a touch-up.”

“Great! I can take it after we get to the Hermes cabin.”

“Okay.”

They walked for a while, Hunk pointing out all of the important structures of the camp. Keith was amazed at how large and well-built everything looked. Everything had the theme of ancient Greece, which obviously made sense. He was also impressed by all of the cool weapons everyone was carrying. Of course, none of the other swords or bows could match up to his knife, but still. It was something to behold.

“Hey,” Hunk suddenly said, “Do I… know you? You look really familiar.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, dude. I feel like I’ve met you before.”

“You met me in the infirmary.”

“You know what I mean. I just recognize you, even if I can’t quite place it.”

“Well, you come find me when you do,” Keith sarcastically quipped. Was Keith… a son of Hephaestus and he has some features of a Hephaestus kid? Is that why Hunk thought he was familiar.

Wait, no. Hephaestus was a god, not a goddess.

What was Hunk talking about then?

Keith filed it into the back of his mind. He would deal with it later.

Hunk stopped in front of one of the cabins. Right above the door, a small pole with wings and two snakes was hung. Keith raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. Hunk tapped on the door and opened it.

“Romelle!” he called, “You in there?”

A few moments passed. There was only three people inside that Keith could see, two of them playing cards on the top bunk of a bed and the other sharpening their sword. One of the ones playing cards said, “Bathroom” without looking up.

Geez. Tough crowd.

“Oh, okay! Can you tell her we’ll be outside?” Hunk asked. The one who spoke nodded. But they still didn’t look up from their game.

Hunk closed the door and stretched. Keith just watched.

“Romelle is the head counselor of the Hermes cabin. You already met her little brother, Bandor, in the infirmary. They’re actually full siblings!”

Keith groaned. “Great, am I going to have to live with him?”

“Well, probably not in the same bunk. But yes, until you’re claimed, you’ll have to stay in here. And Bandor will be in there.”

“Fun.”

“Bandor’s not so bad! He was just in a bad mood when you met him.”

“Right, sure. Is his older sister going to be as much of an asshole as him?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak about my brother in that way.”

Keith inwardly flinched at the new voice. He didn’t notice the door opening. 

He steeled his face.

Both Hunk and Keith turned to the new person. She was tall with long, blonde hair. Despite having just insulted her brother, she didn’t really seem to have a pissed off expression. Actually, she looked kind of amused. She leaned across the door frame and crossed her arms.

“Who’s the newbie?”

“This is Keith!” Hunk said enthusiastically, nudging Keith’s shoulder.

Romelle looked Keith up and down. He bristled, yet refused to look away from her. His eyes met hers dead-on. She pointed to her cheek.

“Gnarly scar you got there.”

Keith quietly made a growling sound, but didn’t say anything. Romelle chuckled. “You don’t have to be all prickly. Since you’re here, I assume you’re gonna be living in the cabin for a while, so you and I, as well as the rest of my siblings and a couple others that are still unclaimed, will be roommates. We’re always welcoming new demigods.”

“Whatever.”

“Okay. Now, we’re a little full at the moment, and one of our beds broke, so… I hope you don’t mind sharing a mattress with someone.”

“I’d rather sleep on the floor.”

“Probably not a good idea considering there’s a bunch of dangerous shit under all the beds.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

A flash of annoyance crossed Romelle’s face.

“Fine. I hope you enjoy the spiders and explosive whoopee cushions.”

Hunk looked back and forth between them with a hint of worry on his face. Keith sighed. “Sorry. I’m just a little on edge right now. And I’m not really… I don’t like to be touched, okay? Sharing a bed with someone, especially someone I don’t know, wouldn’t really work out that well.”

Romelle scratched her chin for a second and looked him over again. Keith crossed his arms and looked away.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she smiled and put a hand on her hip.

“Alright. I’m sure we can work something out, Keith.”

“Oh, uh… thanks.”

Hunk gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “I can take your jacket now. Latest you should get it back is three, maybe four days.”

“Okay.”

“Alright! I’ll see you later man!”

With a smile, Hunk jogged off. Keith turned back to Romelle, whose smile still wasn’t off of her face.

“So, Keith,” she said, eyebrows waggling, “Welcome to the Hermes cabin!”

“I feel like I’ve gotten enough welcomes today to last me a lifetime,” Keith grumbled back.

——————

Romelle generously sacrificed her own bunk for Keith to stay in, for which he was grateful. Like he said, he didn’t really like to be touched, even if it was accidental. Sharing a bed with someone would definitely ensure he’d be touching someone.

He could still hear all of the sleeping bodies around him. Those that were already living in the cabin were pretty kind to him, although he did catch someone trying to pickpocket him. That incident thankfully ended when he thrust a knife to their throat.

Apparently that’s what Hermes kids were like.

Pickpockets, travellers, pranksters.

There were a few other unclaimed kids, and even a few children of minor gods. None of them really caught his attention.

Keith was on the bottom bunk. Both Bandor and Romelle were sleeping on the one above him. It was hard to sleep, which was funny because aside from his time in the infirmary, Keith hadn’t slept in a bed in a while. Not to mention that everything was calm at that moment in the Hermes cabin. The soft breathing and gentle snores around him were soothing.

He still tossed and turned in the sheets. His knife remained tucked under his pillow, and for fear that someone was going to try and steal it, he had a hand under that held on to the hilt.

Would he get used to the camp? Would he fit in?

Would he ever find out who his mom was? With his luck, he wouldn’t be claimed at all.

He wouldn’t be surprised. 

But he let himself hope a little.

As his eyes dropped closed and he finally felt drowsy, he let himself hope that maybe things would work out. Maybe he would get to talk to his mother, not just find out who she was. Maybe he wouldn’t be outcasted like he always was. Maybe he’d make friends.

Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to turn out okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I'm not really looking for criticism itself, if I do something inconsistent with a head canon or precedent that I myself set, I don't mind you guys pointing it out! Just drop a polite comment about it and I'll try to fix it!
> 
> My Twitter: @cafri_jonqiue


	4. Celestial Bronze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith bumps into a familiar face.
> 
> Then Shiro takes him to get yet another weapon

The minute he felt someone touch his shoulder, even though he was asleep, Keith jumped up and threw himself into a defensive position.

The owner of the hand, a tall girl with really pale skin, didn’t even flinch. She just put her hand down and silently stepped back.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said.

He relaxed his stance and looked away. “I wasn’t scared.”

“Okay.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at her. “Um, was there a reason why you woke me up?”

“Yes. You’re going to be late for breakfast if you don’t get up.”

“Oh. Where’s everybody else?”

“Breakfast.”

“What?!” Keith jumped out from under the bunk and scrambled to find his jacket, before realizing that he had given it to Hunk. “We’re already late then!”

“No. Breakfast starts in ten minutes.”

“Why is everyone already there?!”

“To talk with their friends.”

“Why are you still here then?!”

“Romelle sent me to come back and get you.”

“Uhg!”

Keith ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to make it look neater. He attached his knife to his belt and wiped his nose with the back of his head. “Whatever. Let’s just go now.”

The girl nodded. They both walked outside. The chilly air made Keith shiver.

“What’s your name?”

He narrowed his eyes. “What’s yours?”

“Acxa.”

“Acxa?”

“Yes.”

“Okay…” Keith frowned.

Acxa looked at him. “I told you my name.”

“Uhg, fine. It’s Keith.”

Acxa nodded. “Everyone here is going to find out your name eventually. It’s more polite if you give people your name without them having to find out from someone else.”

One of Keith’s eyelids twitched. “I don’t see why it matters.”

They continued walking without saying anything. Although the silence was short lived once Acxa slowed her pace and gestured ahead. 

“Do you know how the dining pavilion works?”

“Uh what?”

“I guess not. You’ll figure it out, just stay at the Hermes table.”

“... Why?”

“Against the rules to go somewhere else.”

Keith frowned. “But I’m not even a Hermes kid.”

“Well, you don’t know that yet.”

“Actually, I do! My dad wasn’t the person absent from the minute I was born!”

She gave him a wary look and shrugged. “Whatever. You still need to stay at the Hermes table, since you’re staying in the Hermes cabin.”

“All everyone has been saying since I got here is ‘do you know about this thing? No? Well, you’ll figure it out!’ Is anyone other than Shiro actually gonna tell me what the fuck I need to do?”

Acxa raised an eyebrow. “You’ve met Shiro, then.”

“Yeah, I met Shiro. Like five fucking years ago.”

“You know him outside of here?”

“And I ask, once again, why does it matter?”

“I’m just making conversation.”

Keith pursed his lips and crossed his arms. 

They fell into another silence. This time, it stayed for the rest of the walk.

When they arrived at the pavilion, Keith could barely hear Acxa guiding him to the Hermes table. All the tables were filled with campers and it seemed like everyone was just screaming at the top of their lungs. The entire mess hall was just a giant blur of orange, orange, orange.

Keith rubbed his eyes at the sight.

——————

Breakfast was uneventful for the most part, but Keith was still getting used to the magic mechanics of the… everything. It took him embarrassingly forever just to get some water to drink.

Stupid magic goblets.

He had stuffed his plate full of mouthwatering food, stomach growling after days without an actual meal (no, ambrosia and nectar did not count). But half of it had to be, uhg, offered to the gods.

Why, Keith had no idea. They were just tossing it into the fire. It just burnt up. How was that offering anything to a higher being?

More importantly, why did they need his food? They were gods! They didn’t need food to survive! They certainly didn’t need food bad enough to take their fill off of the plate of a teenager who hadn’t eaten properly in days.

Still, with a grumble, he shoved his food into the fire so that he wouldn’t draw attention to himself. That was the last thing he wanted.

After scarfing down what he had left, and dozing off during announcements or whatever Coran and some other dude were talking about, he, along with everyone else in the dining hall, were hustled out to do camp activities. Keith wasn’t too interested. He just wanted to get to Shiro.

He wasn’t able to catch Shiro before he left the dining room, so he assumed Shiro was back in his cabin. Keith would just look for him there.

Except… after wandering back to where the cabins were laid out, he realized that he had no idea which one the Aphrodite cabin was. And he didn’t want to awkwardly walk into the wrong one. 

Grumbling, he put his hands into his pockets. He didn’t want to talk to anyone but Shiro at that moment. But he also needed to know where he could find him so that he would be able to talk to him.

He looked around for the nearest person. His eyes landed on a tall, lanky boy sitting on the porch of one of the cabins, sharpening his arrows. With a sigh, he quietly shuffled over to tap his shoulder. 

“Hold on a sec, lemme finish this last one,” the boy said without looking up. Keith scratched the back of his head.

“I just need to know where the Aphrodite cabin is. I’m, uh, new.”

The boy lifted a hand to point. “It’s the one with the bright pink door. Can’t miss… it…” He slowly looked up from what he was doing and his words trailed off when he saw Keith.

Keith flicked his eyes away from him. “Okay… yeah, thanks.”

The boy in front of him seemed to be frozen, his eyes wide and his eyebrows furrowed. It was unnerving.

“Uh… are you okay?” Keith asked.

The boy’s face immediately changed from surprise to outrage. And for some reason, that exact expression on this specific guy’s face was way too familiar.

“You,” he said, his words dripping with enough venom that Keith flinched.

“Um… yeah?”

The boy stood up, dropping the arrow he was working on to sharply poke Keith in the chest.

“You thought you could just waltz in here with you dirty-ass mullet, didn’t you?”

“I- what?”

“I cannot BELIEVE you of all fucking people would be here to ruin my life!”

Keith narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I don’t even know you!”

The boy’s eyes widened again for a second. “What- you don’t remember me?”

He almost sounded hurt.

Of course, Keith didn’t care. “Do you know me? Because I assure you, I don’t know who the hell you are.”

“Uh, the name’s Lance?”

Keith just stared at him.

“We were in the same class at the Garrison?”

The Garrison? There were other Garrison kids here? Is that why he looked familiar?

“Really, are you a… engineer?”

The boy- er, Lance- looked incredulous. “No, I’m a pilot. We were like rivals, you know? Lance and Keith, neck and neck.”

And it hit.

He narrowed his eyes. “Oh wait, I remember you.”

Remembered this asshole who always tried to start something with him back at the Garrison. God, he was almost worse than James.

And this fucker was a demi-god too.

“You’re a cargo pilot.”

Lance sneered. “Well not anymore, I’m fighter class now, thanks to you getting booted.”

It was Keith’s turn for his face to contort in anger. He looked away.

“Well congratu-fucking-lations, asshole. I hope you fucking enjoyed it.”

And with that, he stalked off in the direction of the Aphrodite cabin. He wanted to look back, he really did, but he didn’t want to give Lance the satisfaction of showing that his words struck a nerve. 

Even if it was obvious it did.

——————

Upon arriving at the Aphrodite cabin, Keith pounded on the door and crossed his arms.

A tall girl opened the door and looked up at him.

“Jeez, break down the door, why not.”

Keith huffed. “Would you prefer I just barged in?”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for Shiro.”

“Okay. Well, Shiro’s busy right now-”

He glared at her, and she fumbled over her words.

“ -b-but I’m sure he’d love to see you,” she finished with a squeak.

“Good.” 

She dipped her head and slinked back into the cabins. A few people, presumably children of Aphrodite by the way they looked and dressed, walked in and out of the cabin. If they got a good enough look of Keith’s messy, dirty form, they flashed in a strange look.

Keith ignored them. His foot tapped on the ground, going faster as the minutes ticked by.

Finally, he stepped forward to knock on the door again… only for it to open again.

Shiro walked out, rubbing his neck. “Hey Keith. Eden told me you were waiting.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Did she now?”

“Sorry it took so long, I was in the shower.”

Frowned, Keith leaned back on the railing. “Why was she so tight-lipped about that? It was just a shower.”

Shiro shrugged. “Eden’s the second oldest in the cabin. She’s pretty protective of us.”

“Oh that’s right, you guys are technically siblings.”

Shiro smiled. “Technically, yes.”

“You two look almost nothing alike.”

“Well, the only relation we have is our mother, who constantly looks different for whoever it is she decides to have kids with.”

“Yeah, but I mean…”

Shiro chuckled. “Yeah, I know it’s confusing.” He took a deep breath in and sighed out. “So what do you want to do?”

“What?”

“What do you want to do? We have a lot of time before lunch.”

Keith looked around the camp. “I don’t… I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t know what to do.”

Shiro looked at Keith. “You okay?”

“What? What about what I just said would give you the impression that I’m not okay?”

“Keith. I know that expression.”

Keith immediately wiped the emotion from his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And in any case, why would I be 100% okay right now? I’m still confused about everything and no one is telling me anything.”

“That’s fair, but I feel like something else is bugging you. Did something happen?” Shiro gave him a small smile.

He stayed quiet. 

He trusted Shiro. In fact, he was the only one that he trusted in this whole camp.

But he didn’t want to talk about the fact that fucking Lance was here.

Shiro looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you want to go to the armory? Pick out a weapon?”

While Keith was thankful that Shiro was dropping the subject, at least for now, he frowned. “I already have a knife.”

“Hm.” Shiro tapped his chin. “It wouldn’t hurt to check it out. See if there’s something else you’d like to carry as well.”

“I don’t know how to fight with anything except a knife.”

“You’ll learn. I mean, I fight with a scimitar, and I definitely did not know how to use one when I got here.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “The hell is a scimitar?”

“It’s a type of blade. It’s curved.”

“Like a… sickle?”

“No, a sickle is shaped like a crescent. A scimitar is just curved.”

“Is it like a… pirate sword?”

“What?” Shiro snorted. “No, no, you’re thinking of a cutlass. It’s different.”

“Why do you know so much about weapons?”

“Camp. But like, it’s… hold on.” He fumbled with the bracelet on his arm.

His metal arm. 

Keith winced. He still wasn’t used to seeing shiny metal in place of soft skin.

A slight disorientation in the air spread around Shiro’s wrist and Keith squinted. He blinked once, and suddenly, there was a long, curved weapon in the palm of Shiro’s hand. Keith jumped back.

“What the hell?! How did you do that?!”

Shiro gave Keith a sly smile. “Disguise from humans. And an effective way to keep it on me without it being bulky. Most kids here carry their weapons that way. Especially the ones with bigger weapons.”

Keith just stared at it.

“Come on.” Shiro stepped off the porch and beckoned for Keith to follow him. “I’m sure you’ll love the armory.

——————

“Wow.”

Keith’s eyes bulged out at the array of various weapons, ranging from giant cleaver-like swords to tiny daggers. And all of them were in a slight golden color, just like his knife.

Shiro grinned. “Impressive, right?”

“No kidding.” 

“We have all kinds of weapons. Traditional ancient Greece ones of course, but we also have more modern and diverse types of weapons from all over the world.” 

Keith took a step forward and ran his hand down one of the swords. “What are these made of?”

“Celestial bronze.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Never heard of it.”

Shrugging, Shiro stepped inside the shed and stood next to Keith. “I wouldn’t expect you to. It’s a unique metal forged by the Cyclopes of Mount Olympus and bathed in the River Lethe.”

“River Lethe?”

Shiro sighed. “You really need to get caught up in your Greek history.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “So what’s the stamina of celestial bronze?”

“Very good. It can’t harm mortals, but it definitely harms monsters.”

“Mortals?” Keith cocked his head to the side. “Does that include us?”

Shiro shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. We get the best of both worlds. We have a couple godly powers inherited from our parents, but we can still die. Yet we still get harmed by magical weapons.”

“Fun.”

“Yup.”

Keith let go of the sword he was touching and turned back to Shiro. “Wait, wait, wait, back up a second. Godly powers?”

“Oh, yeah. Most children of gods get some sort of power from their parents, no matter how minor it may be. It can be a simple increase in strength or something as powerful as being able to control water.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Which demigods get to control water?”

“Kids of Poseidon, but there’s not very many of them. Not anymore. The Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all made a pact to not have anymore kids.”

“Huh.”

Shiro smiled. “You’ll see a flurry of different powers that kids have.”

“What do you have?”

“Me? Well.” Shiro chuckled. “Not sure if you’ve ever heard of it, but I can use charmspeak.”

“Charmspeak?”

Shiro nodded. “It’s similar to hypnosis. Basically, I say something, and it causes others to listen to or do what I say. Most children of Aphrodite have the ability to charmspeak, although the strength of it varies.”

“Oh.” Keith slowly nodded. “I think I get it.”

“Mhm. Practicing and understanding how charmspeak works can make the person using it very powerful, since they can command others to do whatever they say.”

“That’s pretty cool.” Keith snickered. “Now I know why you’ve always been so convincing.”

Shiro spluttered. “What?! No no, I haven’t used it on you! I try not to use it except in emergencies.”

“Whatever you say, Shiro.”

“I’m serious!”

“Sure, sure.” Keith smirked. 

He looked back over to the weapons and walked through the different shelves. The blades and arrow tips all glinted.

Some time went by. He didn’t know how long he was there, looking at, picking up, and feeling the different weapons, but it couldn’t have been too long. 

He finally came upon a long-looking sword. He picked it up by the hilt and twisted his wrist around, feeling the weight and balance of the blade.

Keith turned to Shiro.

“This feels pretty good.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Oh? Find something you like?”

“Yeah.” Keith looked down to the sword in his hand. “Yeah, I think I did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a couple of months since I posted! I've just had extreme writers block for this fic, but don't worry, I'm not giving it up.
> 
> Twitter: @cafri_jonique
> 
> Instagram: @cafrifri


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